Carbon Challenge NEWS

April
7, 2009 - Winners are announced!

Governor Douglas announces winners of the Vermont School Carbon
Challenge

April 7, 2009

Dear Vermont students, teachers, parents and communities,

Thank you
for your participation in the Vermont School Carbon Challenge.
Your efforts paid off, both for your schools and Vermont’s
natural resources. Together, you saved more than 114 tons of carbon
emissions. That’s the equivalent of not driving 250,000
miles a year or taking 15 passenger vehicles off the road!

The contest
is over for this year and I am proud to announce the winning
schools, which will each receive $5,000 for an energy efficiency
project and the top team, which will receive $1,000 for an energy
efficiency project.

The top high school is Hazen Union High School
in Hardwick, whose STS team tallied up almost 23 tons of saved
emissions.

The winning middle school, with 23 tons saved, is Richmond
Middle School in Hanover, New Hampshire – home to Norwich
middle-schoolers.

The No. 1 elementary school is Salisbury
Community School, whose zipCO2 team reduced emissions by 5 tons.

The top
team is the Essex High Tech Green Hornets, whose 244 members led
the charge to reduce almost 37 tons of CO2 emissions.

The Environmental
Assistance Office at the Agency of Natural Resources will also
conduct an energy audit at each of the winning schools to help them
plan for a sound investment in energy efficiency.

April
1, 2009 - the Vermont School Carbon Challenge deadline is April 1st!

January
9, 2009

ANR Press Release -
New Year’s resolution
for Vermont schools: Take the Carbon ChallengeThree Vt. schools in top 10 nationally

WATERBURY, Vt. – Three
schools competing in the Vermont School Carbon Challenge
have leapfrogged into the top 10 schools nationally at www.Carbonrally.com,
which hosts the statewide contest sponsored by the Agency of
Natural Resources... Please
click here to read the full press release >>(434
KB PDF)

January
9, 2009

New Year's Note sent to VSCC Schools
from ANR
Secretary Wood and the folks at Carbonrally.com

Everyone,
CONGRATULATIONS! Though you may not yet know it you
are an example of both the power of one – and the power of
many. Those of you accepting the Vermont School Carbon Challenge
have contributed -- each in your own way -- to a reduction of greenhouse
gases…and
taken together, everyone involved has helped generate some very
impressive numbers. To learn more, please
click here to open the New Year’s
note(1495KB PDF) from
the ANR Secretary and the folks at Carbonrally.com. Like a report
card during the school year, we hope this note gives some idea
of just how you’re
all doing in the aggregate. Please share the note with teammates,
celebrate your success, and keep up the good work – it’s
still several months until April!

December
29, 2008

As of December 29, 2008 the Vermont School Carbon
Challenge teams reduced CO2 emissions by 50.57
tons! On Dec. 29, 2008 there were 18 VSCC teams
with 594 members who had taken 2313 challenges! Check the Vermont
Rally Impact Map and the VSCC teams page!

The Agency of Natural Resources and Carbonrally.com have
teamed up to launch the Vermont School Carbon Challenge, an educational
effort to get students, schools and communities to reduce carbon emissions,
save energy and perhaps win $5,000 for their local school.

Governor Jim Douglas kicked off the launch of the Carbon Challenge
Tuesday by pledging to take two of Carbonrally’s popular challenges: “Green
Ham and Cheese” and “Power Shower.”

“I hope
to see all Vermont schools take the Carbon Challenge,” the
Governor said. “Our youngest residents hold the key to our
future success, where our quality of life and prosperity are entwined
with environmental stewardship.”

Vermont is the first state
to take the Carbon Challenge with Carbonrally.com, said founder
Jason Karas, a 1989 graduate of the University of Vermont’s
Environmental Studies program.

“Vermont is a truly green
state that has a fantastic record of environmental innovation
and action. We hope other states will follow their lead with similar
programs for their students,” Karas
said. “Empowering kids to have a collective impact is the
central theme behind Carbonrally. The Vermont School Carbon Challenge
will bring that theme to life through the ideas, leadership and
actions of students across the state.”

The Governor made a
challenge of his own. “As governor of
the greenest state in the nation, I invite my fellow governors
to follow Vermont’s lead and bring the Carbon Challenge
to their state schools,” Douglas said. “Every pound
of carbon saved is a win for all of us.”

Schools can sign
up for the Carbon Challenge by visiting the
Agency’s Web site: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/carbonchallenge/.
There, students and teachers learn more about climate change, find
useful links and educational aids and will be directed to Carbonrally.com
where they will create their teams, take challenges or propose ideas
for new challenges.

Carbonrally.com then tracks every pound of carbon
saved on its “rally
machine” and the results are tallied in real time on the website’s
leader board.

The web-based contest allows students, teachers, schools
and families to compete with each other to see who can rack up
the biggest reductions in carbon emissions by making simple, but
lasting, changes in their everyday activities.

The top elementary,
middle and high school will win $5,000 to use for a future energy-efficiency
project at the school. The school with the top team will also win
another $1,000 to be used for energy efficiency.

Governor Douglas
applauded the Carbon Challenge sponsors, saying “In
true Vermont fashion, we work together to make our state a prized
place to live and work. I thank these sponsors for their commitment
to our schools.”

This fun, challenging experience, is designed
to teach the importance of taking small, collective steps toward
changing everyday actions in order to make a big difference in
the world around them.

“Education is one of the key components
of addressing climate change,” said ANR Secretary George
Crombie. “The
actions learned early in life are the foundation for a lifelong
appreciation for the environment.”

Tom McKone, Principal
of Northfield Middle & High School, says
he’s eager to get going with the Vermont School Carbon Challenge.

“This
is a great opportunity to bring our environmental curriculum into
the real world and at the same time to reduce our carbon footprint
and to save energy,” McKone said. “Northfield Middle
and High School is looking forward to a friendly competition with
other schools. This is a win-win for everyone who participates.”